The First Christmas
by Lemonadefreak
Summary: George deals with his first Christmas without Fred with the help of Angelina. I thought I'd write how they get together.


**Merry Christmas people! I thought I'd write this little thing here. I had a lot of fun and this being my first on, I think I did alright. Enjoy!**

It never seemed real at first; the pain, the sadness. It was all just a dream to him. He walked as if in a trance. Ate but didn't speak, never made eye contact with those around him. Percy was the same, most days he just sat in his room staring at the blank walls he refused to hang things on. "It'll just make it look cluttered." He'd say every time his brothers, and even Ginny, tried to get him to hand something on it. Now his face was just as blank as the walls the surrounded him. He never did leave his room anymore; the family had to bring food up to him so he wouldn't starve. George went places, did simple things, and even played a few pranks here and there. But he never smiled at them, never laughed, didn't yell back when his mother fussed at him for whatever it was he'd done. He went to bed each night wishing this were all just a bad dream and that he'd wake up and Fred would be in the bed on the other wall, snoring as he used to. Each morning he woke disappointed. He was gone. He was really gone. Fred really was dead, and as the year wore on George slowly came back. He began to talk, smile, and laugh a little. Fred's death really hit hard on Christmas Eve. The first one after his death. The family was all gathered around the long wooden table, getting ready to start eating. Molly was rushing about, asking and asking if people needed anything. Finally she stopped to take a breath. All the seats were taken except for two. Her own and…. She took in a sharp breath and looked at George; he had the same look on his face. One of realization. This was their first Christmas without Fred. Molly realized she'd set a spot for him, with his own plate and everything. George had gone pale. He pushed back his chair and stood. Not acknowledging the questions he got. He pushed open the back door and stepped out into the cold night air. Molly buried her face in her hands and sat down. She began to cry and it was Angelina who first realized what was wrong. She stood and ran after George.

The snow drifted down from the gray clouded sky making it look a lot lighter than it was. His bright red hair stood out against the white background. She slowed and walked up behind him. He was on his knees, his face hidden by his hands. His shoulders shook with silent sobs. She knelt next to him and put her hand on his shoulder. "George," she whispered. He jerked away from her and stood. "Go away. I don't want your sympathy." He brushed off his jeans and briskly walked away. She didn't move as she watched him go, a tear rolled down her cheek.

George walked through the trees, pushing branches out of his way. He wiped the tears from his cheeks and fell back to his knees. "Why…" He whispered over and over again. He leaned against a tree and brought his knees up to his chest, hiding his face so no one could see him cry. Not that there was anyone around to see it. He stayed like that, unmoving. His cries echoed through the forest, breaking the silence that had come to rest there.

His cries finally subsided until it was just noiseless weeping. Angelina stood a few feet away, not making any noise as not to bother him. She'd been standing there for a while, just looking at him. Finally she went and sat by him. She didn't say anything this time, just pulled him into her arms and held him. He buried his face in her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her. "Why did it have to be him? Why Fred?" He asked softly. "I don't know. It shouldn't have been him. And don't even say it should've been you because it shouldn't. It shouldn't have been either of you." He looked up at her; his eyes were red and puffy. "I know that. I'm not stupid." She snorted and smiled. "I know you're not. Will you come back to the Burrow now?" He pulled away from her. "No, I'm not sure if I can handle Mum's crying. I might start again. And that'll cause a chain reaction of Weasley tears, which will spread until everyone is crying and being pathetic." He looked up through the branches at the stars. "We used to like making shaped, Fred and I." He said. "I'd always say there was a bunny up there, I can't remember where now but he'd always argue and say that bunnies were stupid and he'd find some other thing to call it." He let out a small laugh and smiled. "We were a pretty odd pair. Always getting into trouble. Now it's just me." His face turned sad again. "What am I gonna do?" He looked over at her. "I don't know. I guess you could play a prank for him. I'd even help… If you want," He raised an eyebrow. "You'd play a prank just to make me feel better? Seriously?" She stood and brushed off her legs. "Yeah, sure. Now, are you coming?" She held out her hand. He grinned and took it. "So, what are we gonna do?" She asked him. "Dunno, Fred usually thought of the prank. I just figured out how to make it work." She looped her arm through his. "Well, let's go then." She pulled him along behind her as she explained what she wanted to do. George's grin grew bigger with every word she spoke.

When they got back, Mum was done crying and was running around the kitchen again. They snuck into the kitchen and soon returned, trying and failing not to grin. They sat at the table and everything fell silent. They stared at George with sympathetic looks. "What's wrong with you lot? Quit staring at me!" He snapped. Nine pairs of eyes quickly looked away and at Molly as she came out of the kitchen, carrying a big round silver tray. She set it down on the table and beamed. "Dinner is served." She pulled the top off and began cutting the duck— well, she tried to cut it. As soon as the knife touched it it changed with a _pop. _Spiders crawled around the table and onto people's plates. There was a high pitched scream as Ron knocked his chair back and fell on the floor. Chaos erupted and George ran out of the room with Angelina in tow. "That was absolutely brilliant!" She exclaimed as they stumbled into the living room. George didn't respond. He clutched his stomach and doubled over, gasping for breath. "Did you see the look on Ron's face?" He managed to get out. "Priceless!" He looked up and gasped. Angelina had wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips. He didn't move, he didn't want to. She pulled away and looked up at him. "I love you, George." She said. "I love you too." He pulled her closer to him and kissed her. There was a surprised gasp from the doorway as Harry walked in. But he didn't care. He just kept kissing her. Fred was right. She was a great kisser.

**So that's it then. My first story is complete! Sorry for the really corny prank but I couldn't think of anything else. Please let me know what you thought of it and if you find any typos let me know so I can fix them. I try to do my best when proofreading but I don't always find everything. Thanks for reading!**


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